Domino’s Pizza hikes dividend after growing profit and revenue in first half of 2016
Domino's Pizza said the recent Euro 2016 football championship helped boost trading in the first half of 2016, with sales up almost 11 per cent in the UK.
The figures
Sales across the UK, Ireland and Switzerland rose 17 per cent to £494.5m in the 26 weeks to 26 June, up from £422.6m in the same period of 2015. Like-for-like sales in the UK went up by 10.9 per cent.
Statutory revenue grew 14.2 per cent to £176.4m, from £154.5m, and statutory post-tax profit went up 22.7 per cent to £33m from £26.9m.
The company hiked its dividend by 16.7 per cent to 10.5p from 9p.
Why it's interesting
Domino's has embarked on a digital investment programme and it looks to be paying off. The group invested £1.4m into its UK e-commerce platforms during the six months to the end of June, and online sales now represent 81 per cent of all delivered sales in the region, up from 77 per cent in the prior period. In addition, the company said over 62 per cent of online sales come from mobile devices – up from 58 per cent in 2015.
The Euro 2016 football championship had a notable impact on sales during the period – the company said there was a 66 per cent uplift in sale on the day of the England v Wales match during the tournament.
While the firm said it faces a tougher second half of the year, it added that it is "well positioned" and plans to open another 70 stores in the UK by the end of 2016.
What Domino's said
Chief exec David Wild, said: “Domino’s Pizza Group has made a very strong start to 2016 and this performance is reflected in today’s numbers. Our UK operations continue to perform extremely well and we opened a record 30 new stores in the first half.
"Current trading is encouraging, boosted by the Euro 2016 championships; we have made a sound start to the second half on the year. We face tougher comparatives throughout the rest of the year, but I am confident we shall deliver another good performance right across the group."
In short
The pizza making giant continues to deliver.